An Interview with Dave Robertson

THE MUMBLE : Hello Dave, so where ya from & where ya at, geographically speaking?

DAVE : I’m currently situated in the West end of Glasgow but my home town is Carluke.

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THE MUMBLE : What was it about performance that you first fell in love with?

DAVE : I’ve been involved in theatre for as long as I can remember. From a very young age I was a member of SHINE Youth Music Theatre where my love of performance developed. I guess I love the escapism of performance, being able to play characters that are sometimes so far removed from yourself but also being able to communicate a story to an audience in the hope that they can take something away from it.

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THE MUMBLE : Can you tell us a little about the inception of Glasgow Live Productions?

DAVE : GLP was set up by Angus Reid (our current President) and Lawrence Sharkey with a view to give people in Glasgow the opportunity to develop skills within production team roles. There are a number of clubs and dramatic societies that offer performers the chance to be involved but they recognised the difficulty in gaining practical experience for directors, producers, stage managers etc. After the success of ‘Company’, GLP became a registered charity and moved forward with their second production ‘RENT’. It’s become apparent that GLP’s identity is young and vibrant, we choose contemporary material and perform in intimate settings.

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THE MUMBLE : You were recently voted onto the board for GLP, taking on the role of Director for ‘The Last Five Years’ – how are you finding the transition from performance to ordering folk about?

DAVE : It’s been a great experience, sometimes being thrown in the deep end and having to think on your feet is the best way to learn. There hasn’t been much need to order people around as GLP work on a very collaborative basis, so it really feels like team effort.

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THE MUMBLE : Can you sum up ‘The Last Five Years’ in one sentence?

DAVE : It’s always hard to sum up something so vast in one succinct sentence but I guess I would say that ‘It’s a story about falling in and out of love and reminds us all that it’s okay to be human’.

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THE MUMBLE : What emotional responses to you expect from watchers of this play?

DAVE : I’m not going to lie, I would strongly recommend bringing some tissues! The music and story is beautiful and the actors do it great justice. It’s not all doom and gloom – don’t worry – there are lots of light hearted moments too!

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THE MUMBLE : What does the rest of 2017 have in store for both Dave Robertson & the GLP?

DAVE : At this point, it’s hard to see past The Last Five Years as it’s become such an important part of my life over the past few months! As a company we are moving on to our next production ‘Spring Awakening’ which I’m really excited to be involved in. I might switch sides again and audition for the show as it’s one of my all time favourites and would love the chance to perform it!